Printed circuit boards, also known as PCB's, can be subjected to a variety of known manufacturing process steps that require planar PCB's to be transported horizontally or flat through a portion of a furnace.
One known apparatus for transporting a PCB horizontally is a moving belt. However, placing a PCB on even a perforate belt limits the exposure of the lower surface of the PCB for processing. Another known transport device includes edge grabbers or supports that move linearly through the furnace. Because edge grabbers hold or support only opposing sides of the PCB, both the upper and lower surfaces of the PCB are exposed for processing. However, edge supporting transport devices have a serious limitation: they provide no support for the underside of the PCB except at the edges. Therefore, depending on the thickness and width of a selected material from which a PCB is fabricated, the center of the PCB can droop or bow downwardly during processing. Sagging at the center of the PCB can preclude correct processing of the PCB, resulting in an elevated product defect rate.